Flexible implants are being used more and more in operations to remove cataracts and to put an airtificial lens into place, such implants having the advantage that for insertion into the eye they require an incision of small size only. Once inserted, the implants unfold elastically and return to their initial lens shape inside the eye. To facilitate the work of the surgeon, it is advantageous to prepare the implant in advance and to keep it in its folded condition so that the surgeon only needs to take hold of it using appropriate forceps and insert it into the eye.